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Sunday, June 30, 2013

Oh, you Swedes and your floaty, dreamy pop music. It must be like walking on clouds all the time over there. "Abyss" is taken from Museum of Bellas Artes' upcoming "Pieces" LP on Best Fit Recordings. It's due in September, but listen to the first single below.

Friday, June 28, 2013

There are seemingly an endless number of different revival movements and homages zigging and zagging through the culture right now. The UK is experiencing a upsurge of 60's inspired psych rock, and i'm really digging on the band Temples right now. Their "Shelter Song" 7" finally gets an American release next month via Fat Possum. Check out the video for B-side "Colours to Life" below...and groove.

The 90's have been making their inevitable comeback for a long time now (probably since about 2002), and if the new album from Connecticut band Ovlov is any indication, that's a good thing. Check out "Where's My Dini?" from the forthcoming album "AM" below. It makes me think of smoking cigarettes and drinking beer in a friend's backyard, and it features guest vocals from Sadie Dupuis, a member of fellow 90's revivalists Speedy Ortiz. Grab the album from Exploding in Sound Records and enjoy the slow burn below.

Way back in 1997, Trent Reznor produced the soundtrack for David Lynch's film, "Lost Highway." Sixteen years later, Lynch returns the favor by directing the seizure-inducing new video for Reznor's Nine Inch Nails comeback, "Came Back Haunted." Watch the video below and grab the album in September.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Doom folk chanteuse Chelsea Wolfe will be releasing a new album, "Pain Is Beauty," later this fall on Sargent House. This time around, she's moving away from her brand of creepy, dark folk music and into the realms of icy, synthetic pop. I'm torn on this, as creepy, dark folk music and icy, synthetic pop are two of my favorite things. Listen to first single "The Warden" below.

I had the wonderful good fortune to come by the first single from former Wu Lyf front man Ellery James Roberts. "Kerou's Lament" is a screamed hymn in a swirl of synth symphonics, blasts of horns, reverb, cymbal crashes, and wrenching, personal vocals. It's the sound of an anguished Bruce Springsteen lamenting the world that spawned him. It's glorious. High, high hopes for the Englishman's future output. Watch the video below.

Sub-genres are always an interesting beast, a fusion of different styles and sounds pulled together to make something unique. While hipper than alt-country, cowpunk never really gets its due. LA band Blood on The Saddle released their debut self-titled LP in 1984 on New Alliance Records, and it's a pretty awesome album. Take a listen to "Banks of the Ohio."

An old school country music vibe, but mixed with jangly garage rock guitars. A lot of these sounds would be found later on albums by an array of artists from Butthole Surfers to Southern Culture on the Skids to Hank Williams III. Listen to the raucous "Blood on the Saddle."

Lastly, here's some footage of the band playing "Do You Wanna Dance?" The sound's a little rough, but this song displays more of singer Annette Zilinskas' vocals, and that guitar tone just slams through as well.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

William Lustig's classic, ugly 1980 film "Maniac" gets the remake treatment this year in a new film featuring Elijah Wood. The remake is shot primarily from the point of view of the killer, and looks like it could be a pretty interesting and gory fun ride. The soundtrack to the new film comes to us from the singularly named Rob, and is a mesh of 80's synth and drone tones (an homage to the original brilliant score from Jay Chattaway). Mondo is releasing the new soundtrack stateside (that's the cover art above), which is only fitting seeing as their first vinyl release was a reissue of the original film's soundtrack. Death Waltz is releasing the LP (with different cover art) on the other side of the pond, and as far as i can tell, both record labels are already sold out, so you'll have to procure a copy through other means. For now though, you can listen to album closer "Juno" featuring vocals from Chloe Alper.

Future Islands side-project The Snails create damaged indie-pop rock songs for the masses, and they do a pretty damn good job of it too. Listen to "Coconut Boat" from the band's "Worth The Wait" EP on Friends Records, and then demand more music from these Baltimore kids.

It's hotter than Satan's breath outside today, so let's all cool down with some nice, fuzzy and dreamy summer jams from Pageants (Rebecca Coleman of Avi Buffalo). Listen to "Musings of The Tide" and "August Moon" below, and be on the look out for the 7".

Aside from having a name my inner child finds delightful, Nashville garage rock band Diarrhea Planet lay down some excellent and fuzzy rock jams for the masses. Listen to "Kids" below, taken from the forthcoming album "I'm Rich Beyond Your Wildest Dreams,' out in August from Infinity Cat.

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Mexican Summer has been making with the excellent reissues lately (Lansing-Dreiden anyone?), and the hits just keep on coming with the release of Ashrae Fax's 2003 LP "Static Crash!" The album of ethereal, synth-damaged, Siouxsie-inspired Goth-gems went largely ignored upon its release. Hopefully we can remedy that. Listen to "Pointbreak" below and read more about the band here.

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Oh, the triumphant return of the sci-fi hip-hop stylings of Del the Funky Homosapien, Dan the Automator, and Kid Koala, or better known as Deltron 3030. 13 years after their debut, the boys are making music again in a vein that sounds like it could have come out 13 years ago. That's not a bad thing. Listen to and download new jam "City Rising From the Ashes" below. Hopefully a new record of nerd-rap is right around the corner.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

I couple of weeks ago, the first taste of Fuck Buttons' new album "Slow Focus" made its way onto the web. And now we have some trippy visuals to accompany it. Check out the video for "The Red Wing" below and be on the lookout for the new record next month from All Tomorrow's Parties.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Traditionally experimental artist Arp (Alexis Georgopolous" goes full-on bleeding soul on his latest jam "MORE (BLUES)" from new album "MORE," due in September on Smalltown Supersound. Listen below, and make sure you dig on those organs.

Italian prog rock is one of my musical preferences, probably ever since i first heard Goblin's "Dawn of the Dead" score back when i was a teenager. Just the right amount of guitar wankery, funk, classical, and pretension to get the blood flowing right. Which brings us to the odd little album "Banco" by Banco del Mutuo Soccorso. Released in 1975, the album found the group focusing its sound primarily as a fusion of classical chamber music, opera, and electric guitar rock. The whole thing is very dramatic. Let's start with album opener "Chorale (from Traccia's Theme)."

There's almost a Wendy Carlos type vibe going on in the short album intro, but it sets the stage for the rest of the LP. "Nothing's the Same" jumps all over the place. Listen below.

Finally, we have the 15-minute "Metamorphosis" below which pretty much captures and embodies the band as a whole, showcasing individual styles and talents of each band member as well as bringing together all the different influences that make this record what it is.

On one final note, lead singer Francesco DiGiacomo was totally rocking the balding-fat-guy-with-giant-beard look long before anyone else.

In the mood for some howling, icy post-punk noise from Sacramento? Sure you are. Check out the debut album from Screature (digging on the name, like some early 90's industrial band) and listen to "All in All" below. You can buy the album here.

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

I don't know much about Chicago trio Bitchin Bajas, except that their name is fun to say, they're on an excellent record label (Drag City), and their swirling, interstellar sound of synths and loops is alright with me. Definitely an Eno-vibe going on, and who doesn't love a good Eno-vibe? Listen to "Sun City" below from the forthcoming "Bitchitronics" LP, due in July.

Here's some lo-fi Goth music from LA's Flaamingos, taken from their self-titled LP on the always awesome and dependable Felte Records. "All I Wanna Do Is Live" kind of sounds like a homemade Smiths or Cure demo, so naturally its working its way into normal rotation around here. Listen and download below and keep an eye out for the album soon.

Monday, June 17, 2013

Dingy post-punk noodlings with echoes of Television, Birthday Party-era Nick Cave, New York No Wave, and an undercurrent of straight Detroit Rock City embody the debut album from motor city band Protomartyr. "No Passion, All Technique" is equal parts punk energy and avant garde mania, and it's a pretty fun and impressive debut. Listen to "Feral Cats" below and get the album from Urinal Cake Records.

Sunday, June 16, 2013

It's Father's Day (my first), and it's a million degrees outside, and i'm so tired (having a newborn will do that), so let's just sit back and relax to some ambient drone from Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement. Listen to "Homes Built Over the Sea" from the "Black Magic Cannot Cross Water" LP on Blackest Ever Black. While soothing, it still kind of sounds like we might be coming across some ancient monster just around the bend (see album cover).

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Guitar virtuoso and member of Kurt Vile's Violators Steve Gunn has a new solo offering out this month. "Time Off" is a swirling mix of guitars and drums, a set of pop/folk songs that feel more like jazz than anything else. Remarkably calming work. Listen to "Water Wheel" below and get the album from Paradise of Bachelors.

Friday, June 14, 2013

French synthesizer champion David Grellier, otherwise known as College, has a new album out in August, "Heritage," on Invada Records. It's the first follow up to 2009's "A Real Hero" EP which featured that title track that garnered much acclaim on the soundtrack to "Drive." Take a listen to "Un Long Sommeil" below. At times there's kind of more bubblegummy Gary Numan thing going on.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

In the last two years, we've seen a surge in film soundtrack oriented record labels reissuing classic/cult movie scores with new packaging and covers courtesy of a number of different graphic artists. The results have been fantastic. And so, following in the footsteps of Mondo and Death Waltz, we have Waxwork Records and their debut release, the soundtrack to the 1985 fan-favorite "Re-Animator" by Richard Band. Pre-order here and then wait anxiously for it's late July release, and in the meantime, listen to "Prologue" below.

Here's a new song from ambient doom artists Locrian from their upcoming "Return to Annihilation" LP on Relapse. "Two Moons" finds the band venturing into sonic territories that are at once peaceful and foreboding, like we're on the cusp of the end of something. (This track would have served excellently as soundtrack material to my reading of Murakami's "1Q84" earlier this year.) Listen below (courtesy of Brooklyn Vegan) and look for the album later this month.

Jazz trio Bookhouse just released an album of covers of Angelo Badalamenti's music from "Twin Peaks." The "Ghostwood" LP is a loving and haunting tribute to some of the best television ever produced. Buy the record here and watch a live radio performance of "Into the Night" and "Laura Palmer's Theme" below. It's excellent.

Dark and creepy ambient music from a Welshman? Brian Williams, aka Lustmord, has been making music for over 30 years, and his latest, "The Word As Power," is due in July from Blackest Ever Black. Listen to an extract of "Chorazin" below.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Ah, late 80's college rock. So wistful. So jangly. I dig it. Hailing from Champagne, Illinois, the band drew from a variety of influences, Neil Young, REM, The Byrds to create soft, yet rocking jams alongside peers like The Feelies or The dBs. "Cry for The Moon" was (i believe) the band's first LP.

I couldn't find any album recordings to stream, but here are a few of the album's songs as performed live at a show in 1995.

Here's a haunting little folk jam from frequent Dean Blunt collaborator Joanne Robertson. "Heat" will be issued later in the summer on Blunt's and Inga Copeland's new World Music imprint. Listen below.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Sun Araw's Cameron Stallones and M. Geddes Gengras began making music together last year with Jamaican reggae band The Congos. The two have continued making music together with a series of one-off singles performed with an array of other Jamaican artists. They have donned themselves Duppy Gun, and their latest single "What Would You Say About Me?" is a mix of R&B, dancehall music, and Jamaican vibes. The track features Fiyah Flames on vocals. Get it from Stones Throw and listen below.

The net has just been flooded with dreamy, floaty summer songs lately. Here's a new one from Atlanta band Mood Rings. "The Line" is from the forthcoming "VPI Harmony" LP, coming out later this month on Mexican Summer. Listen below.

Foregoing the girl-group garage sound of previous efforts, punk band Hunx and His Punx take a more aggro and snotty turn on new song "Bad Skin." New album "Street Punk" is in the works from Hardly Art, and i'm sure the band will be just as homoerotic as we've all come to love. Listen below.

Monday, June 10, 2013

"Iceman," the 1979 Italian space-disco/prog-rock/Italo-pop record from maestros I Signori Della Galassia just got the reissue treatment from Medical Records in all its booty-shaking, cosmos-streaking, nether regions glory. A weird little gem, but a masterpiece in its own right, the album has been out of print for decades (and is already sold out from the manufacturer), which is a travesty. Listen to "Proxima Centauri" below, and bask in the warm glow of galactic disco.

Oh happy day! New music from King Khan is always a good thing, and it's been a long while since we last heard from The Shrines, so it doesn't matter what kind of mood you're in today, rest easy, make a cocktail, and jam to the soulful horns on the band's latest garage rock classic, "Born to Die." Look for new album "Idle No More" in September from Merge.

Speedy Wunderground Records will be releasing an excellent compilation of Iranian funk and psych rock next month, "Zendooni: Funk, Psychedelia, and Pop from the Iranian Pre-Revolution Generation." In conjunction with that release, the label is also putting out a 7" single of prog band Toy and Bat for Lashes front woman Natasha Khan's cover of Amir Rassaei's "The Bride." It's pretty groovy. Take a listen below, and you can pre-order the 7" here.

Sunday, June 9, 2013

The non-stop, tripped-out, world-psych assault of Sweden's Goat is finally making its way officially stateside with the band's first North American release, a 7" courtesy of Sub Pop. Listen to A-side "Dreambuilding" below. Hooray!

Saturday, June 8, 2013

As you probably already know, Trent Reznor has reformed Nine Inch Nails, and a new album and tour are in the cards later this year. "Came Back Haunted" is the first new single. Give it a listen below. In the meanwhile, 16-year-old-Tommy will be doing a happy dance that NIN are back.

Friday, June 7, 2013

It's been a little while since we last heard from experimental sound collage artists Forest Swords (2010 to be exact), but they just sent out a new cosmic track into the ether. "Thor's Stone" is the sound of uncovering a remote tribe in the jungles of somewhere, unmarked and unphased by the modern world and it's blinking lights. Listen below.

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Awash in a sea of hipster kids at least a decade my junior, i caught CHVRCHES and Still Corners at The Mohawk last night and both bands were lovely, though both seemed unprepared for the heat assault of June in Austin. It was a great show, sold out and crowded, and even Ben Savage was there (Cory Mathews whassup!). Check out some pics below.